By Sammy F. Martin
TACLOBAN City, Nov. 8 (PNA) — The chief local executive here wanted to prepare his constituents to another worst natural disaster after they have been visited twice by two strong typhoons, one of which is Yolanda.
In a chance interview, Mayor Alfred Romualdez told reporters that Tacloban had experienced one of the worst disasters which killed no less than 15,000 residents, 100 years ago.
“We want the people to remember a storm as strong as Yolanda hit us so we can prepare the children, the next generation in that eventuality that hit us again,” Romualdez told reporters during the first anniversary of Yolanda at the mass grave inside Holy Cross Memorial Park in the city.
He reminded everyone that no one can get even with calamity but they can prepare for the worst to lessen casualty and damages to properties.
Exactly a year after the second tragedy that struck Tacloban City, Romualdez said more than 2,000 residents perished and still thousands are missing.
He said that his second priority “is building the lives of their people better not building infrastructure better.” He clarified that what he want is to help first his constituents because they are the first casualty of the recent disaster.
“If the focus after Yolanda is humanitarian response by giving food, the response should be the same in giving shelters,” he pointed out.
The mayor claimed that he want to build permanent houses for the affected families away from the areas declared as “danger zones” so that they can at least minimize the casualties should another Yolanda in the making happens.
“We need 14,500 housing units and I think what we all have to see here is eagerness to help pick the pieces,” he stressed.
“Banda Aceh has been hit a long time ago, we should have learned from that and that should not be the basis at all and we have a very different situation here in Tacloban City than Banda Aceh. I am just saying you know we have to really look at it and ask ourselves do we really have the right mechanisms and systems in place to address issues like these and if we don’t we should make systems and mechanisms works,” he added.
Romualdez reminded everyone that it is important that we put a memorial here because many of the victims not only lost just a family member, the victims lost a minimum of three or four and some of them lost 15 members,” he recalled.
He asked stakeholders to double time or even triple time their efforts in rebuilding the lives of the people of Tacloban in order to normalize the situation.
He thanked the international community of their tireless help for the people of Tacloban who are even persistent and giving job through “food for work” program.
He added that 50 percent of 17,000 businesses in Tacloban is now operational and looking forward to double this by enticing more investors. (PNA)